Video shows enormity of deadly Seffner sinkhole (with video)

Video of the sinkhole that swallowed and killed a Seffner man has been released by Hillsborough County.

The video was taken from inside the Seffner home before it was demolished.

Jeremy Bush, who jumped into the sinkhole to try and rescue his brother, 37-year-old Jeff Bush, said he’s glad others can see for themselves what that 60-foot-deep sinkhole really looked like.

“It'll help people understand what was going on and what the county saw that everybody else couldn't see," Bush said.

Bay News 9 first obtained the video through a public record’s request. It was taken by a tethered Hillsborough County contractor with a camera on the end of a pole that he stuck through Bush’s bedroom window.

The video shows a deep dark pit in the middle of the room with only edges of the floor around it. The camera operator swept the room up and down from one side to the other, but there was no signs of life.

Bush said the sinkhole was not as deep when he jumped into it the night before and had to be rescued by a Hillsborough Sheriff’s deputy.

"It looks totally different than from when I saw it." he said. "It's much deeper. You can't see anything that was in there, than what I seen before, when I first jumped in."

Bush said he saw the top of this brother’s mattress and bedspring actively sinking into the hole on Feb. 28 at 11 p.m.

"You can't even see his bed or anything,” he said. “It's all disappeared."

Jeremy Bush said his brother was asleep in bed when the sinkhole suddenly opened up beneath him. Hillsborough authorities said it was too dangerous to recover Jeff Bush’s body. Instead, the home was demolished and the sinkhole was filled in.

Jeremy Bush said after seeing the contractor video, he understands why his brother’s body could not be recovered.

“It was much, much, bigger than I thought," he said. "I'm having a hard time dealing with this myself. I went back to both jobs, and it's really hard not having my brother there beside me. I think about him all the time and I hear him in my head hollering for me to help him still."

The Bush family has set up a Sinkhole Family Relief Fund for donations. The address is P.O. Box 3197, Brandon, Fla. 33509.